Lady Boss is a year old! Hooray! This community brings us so much joy, so it made it extra special when the feedback we got from our first year survey was overwhelmingly positive. Thank you, bosses, for being so invested and open to building relationships with fellow female entrepreneurs. And thank you for taking the time to provide feedback so we can continue to grow this passion project of ours!

For those who are interested, we decided to share your feedback and how we've used it to decide on some improvements for year number two!

Q: SCHEDULE // What time of day is best for you for Lady Boss?A: Of the two time slots we offered, we got feedback that 4–6:30p is pretty awkward (it takes up workday and evening); and the 6–8:30 gets pretty late especially for mama bosses (and it also makes hostesses feel like they need to provide more than light munchies). So! Starting in March, we'll offer hostesses the option of 3–5:30p (when a lot of folks hit a lull in productivity) or 5–7:30p (happy hour time; ending early enough to sneak in some family time at home!).

Q: PRICE // How would you feel if each event cost $10 (beverages provided instead of BYOB)?A: Nearly everyone said they did not have a preference, so we opted for the $10. Money will go toward drinks that we'll provide — red and white wine, as well as seltzer for events from here on out (except for the occasion when the event is at a restaurant or coffee shops). We hope this will alleviate the booked-up-too-fast registration issues as well as curb last-minute cancellations so we can ensure every seat is full. Please note we will not be offering refunds or credits should an attendee need to cancel; any profit will be put toward future Lady Boss functions to help keep costs down for attendees.

Q: EXPANSION // You picked from a checklist to let us know which ideas you were interested in.A: The two most popular picks were 1) Occasional large-format Lady Boss with break-out groups; and 2) Overnight retreat within an hour's drive of Philly. Noted! The first 20-person Lady Boss will be in March!

Q: FORMAT // Do you have suggestions for how to improve the flow of the night?A: We were surprised and excited to learn that most of you want even *more* question-based discussion time. We're going to trim down the 30-minute arrival window to 10 or 15 minutes so we can buckle down and get to it faster, saving the casual mingling for the end of the evening. We're also bringing louder timers to help us moderate, allowing each woman a chance to ask her question.

Q: HOSTING // How can we make the hosting experience better?A: Not much feedback here, so we'll take that as a positive!

Q: TOPICS // Which topics are you most interested in learning more about?A: Here are the topics that popped up multiple times: marketing, branding, styling, social media, public speaking, SEO, web design, accounting, client retention, styled shoots, advertising, operations/processes, subcontracting, lead generation, leveraging side projects into work opportunities, and innovative networking ideas. This is great info for us to have to keep making Lady Boss useful to you!

Q: VALUE // How could we add more value to the experience?A: Though several feel like they like the value they already get out of it, we noted several responses asking for the opportunity to dive into specific topics — or even have an occasional event that was industry-specific (e.g. wedding photographers). We're going to experiment with doing this occasionally! At the same time, we also got lots of feedback that people like meeting people outside of their niche, and they like the way the conversation feels organic, meandering, and less like a classroom or workshop. So we don't want that to change too much :)

Q: SUGGESTIONS // Do you have ideas for how to make it even better?A: Many of you want them to be longer — ha! They're already 2.5 hours, and you ladies are busy bees, so we're going to keep it at that. But! Now that they will end a little earlier, you could most certainly grab a drink out with ladies once the official event wraps! We also got some great feedback that conversation trends (perhaps a little too much) toward the wedding industry. Noted. Though Heart & Dash's niche is the wedding industry, we want Lady Boss to be valuable for all kinds of creative entrepreneurs — and we have a few strategies we're going to test out to keep conversation more balanced.

A note about the Facebook group — in an effort to stay true to our mission of founding a community based on real relationships, from here on out the private Facebook group will only be available to women who have attended a Lady Boss event. So when you attend your first event, you'll get access. Anyone who's already in the group will be grandfathered (grandmothered?) in!